This application relates generally to an animal holding device for holding an animal during an imaging operation.
More specifically, this application relates to an apparatus and method of heating an animal holding device for keeping the animal immobile at a desired temperature during a scanning operation for imaging the animal in real-time in a non-destructive manner.
Rodents and other laboratory animals are often used for testing purposes. Such testing may involve the need to scan the animal using a scanning device, such as an SPECT, PET, CT, CAT, X-Ray, NMR/MR, or other imaging device, to provide real time and/or photographic images of the animal, which may be done in a non-destructive manner. It may be desirable to anesthetize such animals in order to completely immobilize the animal during the scanning process. Anesthetized animals, and in particular rodents, often cannot hold their body temperature at desired temperatures during such procedures, potentially leading to stress on the animal.
Thus, desirable is a system and method of maintaining the body temperature of immobilized animals in a consistent state while the animal is being anesthetized and/or while the animal is being scanned, or otherwise utilized by the testing process.
Also desirable is a device for supporting the anesthetizing and scanning process that is compatible with those functions and the devices supporting such functions.
Furthermore, in particular for NMR applications, heating systems that are fully compatible with the imaging technology to avoid interference in the scanning process are needed. Classical methods such as water pipes or electrical heating blankets either are NMR visible, or interact with the RF field of the NMR system.